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Friday, March 28, 2014

A Tom Content article in the Miwaukee Journal Sentinel featured Rep. Gary Tauchen (R) discussing his and Rep. Chris Taylor's (D) new Clean Energy Choice legislation, which would open new financing mechanisms for solar and biogas in Wisconsin:

One of the biggest trends in sustainable power nationally is solar and finance companies — rather than homeowners or businesses — paying the upfront cost for solar panels.

A bill just introduced in Madison aims to get Wisconsin on that bandwagon. The bill isn't going to pass but was introduced to get the conversation started on an issue that is strongly opposed by state utilities.

Republican Rep. Gary Tauchen (R-Bonduel), a co-sponsor with Democratic Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison), said the bill is needed to help boost construction of more waste-to-energy projects on Wisconsin farms.

A quote from Rep. Tauchen:

The number of digesters in Wisconsin "has been pretty constant for the last 10 years, and so we're not really moving forward in any big way, as far as renewables," he said. "And we have a lot of potential, especially in a state with over 1.2 million dairy cows to take advantage of a resource here that we have a lot of — manure — and make methane or compressed natural gas out of it."